Caffeine
by InitialKC
Summary: Upon landing on earth after having his home planet destroyed, Loki Odinson embarks on a quest which is halted after he is teleported into the home of private investigator Mina Conan and her two fat cats. However, despite working tightly with SHIELD, she doesn't recognize him. She doesn't even know he's human. A story of comedy, romance, drama, and cats. You can't forget the cats.
1. Prologue - Simple Stone

Manhattan, New York. A universe where Thor Ragnarok was the final movie of the MCU universe. The Asgardian Peoples have landed on Earth and integrated themselves into society. The final rule is given by Thor before dispersing into society was one that banned Magic unless it was for self-defense. The majority of the human population is ignorant of the arrival of the Asgardian people. Life resumes as normal. Infinity War _never_ happened .

* * *

There really wasn't much for the Prince of Asgard to say. Midgardians lived in ridiculously small places.

Loki knew that he promptly stated the obvious, but why note the less obvious when the place was so...bland? It certainly did not suit his fine Asgardian taste. The counters were as bland as his Asgardian prison. Papers littered the floor, each one filled with senseless lettering. The walls were washed with white. The only differences he could determine from other Midgardian homes were the several cat trees in the house and the two other living beings who occupied the house with him.

Which caused him no concern, for those two beings were two fat cats rolling on the floor lazily. One was ginger coloured while the other was speckled with grey- both were chubby despite the food bowl having a timer on it. If it were not for his quest, he would like to take them for himself.

His quest... damn Heimdall. A place brimming with power? The Guardian had a horrible sense of humor. Somehow, Heimdall transferred Loki to the cat-filled Midgardian home. His being here was slightly awkward and a little too claustrophobic for his tastes. Both the decoration and the size was like his Asgardian prison, except for that little bit of hallway; leading to the front door and two other separate rooms, one being a bathroom.

No matter how simple the apartment was, or how stupid Heimdall seemed to be for sending him here, Loki still knew that the guardian would not send him here without reason. This house contained no magical boundaries, according to Loki's magical senses, and mortal technology was useless against Asgardian sorcery. Yet he still could feel a slight tremor of power in the apartment, that being the only reason why he had not teleported out of the house yet. The humans' infinity stone could not have been hidden any sloppier. He was nearby, for sure. His magical senses told him so.

The Prince decided to visit the room with a closed door. The bathroom was irrelevant to him now.

It was nothing more than a typical Midgardian bedroom. At first glance, the bathroom would have been a better place for him to search. This room consisted of nothing but one singular bed and a nightstand. But Loki knew better. There was nothing more ingenious than hiding in plain sight.

Power lingered in the room. No... Lingered wasn't the right word. The power's presence was in front of him, hidden behind layers of magical suppression spells. Perhaps a better way to describe the calling of the power was a presence that was not there, but it was. The Prince could almost taste the power in the room. The humans' infinity stone was most likely in here- no, it was in here. It was somewhere hidden in plain sight.

Now all he had to do was find it.

He inspected the room again, allowing his senses to be heightened as much as possible. The blankets lacked substance underneath them. The pillow was filled with nothing but endless cotton clouds. The nightstand drawer, like the floor, was filled with endless scribbles. The items in plain sight were searched through thoroughly.

He backed up from the nightstand drawer. Was his instinct wrong? Could the stone really be in the bathroom instead? Countless drawers, endless bottles of skin care lotions (If the Midgardian world had few things that Loki could understand, this was one of them), appliances that could be disassembled and assembled with the right tools... That would be a more secure place to hide such a powerful item, he supposed, thinking from the Midgardian useless but impressively complicated train of thought.

A pause. Then he listened again, knowing his mortal senses were sharper than any human. The sounds of the cats meowing contently around his feet. The sharp whisper of the wind on the balcony. And footsteps in the hallways.

And footsteps in the hallways.

He had to find this infinity stone. The power seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, and he wasn't going to let it get away. His magical senses told him no new information from before- the stone must be nearby. Somewhere... it had to be somewhere...

Another pause. More footsteps followed.

And a box, placed next to the shabby nightstand. How did Loki's eyes gloss over it before? Certainly, he was right. The best place to hide was in plain sight. Simple, wooden, and incredibly bland, he noted. The box was like his mother's, except his mother was much more ornate, but they both seemed to keep expensive jewels within them. Except this one actually held a powerful gem, the most powerful man-made essence, the first human-made item that barely resembled an Infinity Stone.

Louder footsteps. More meowing.

Loki scowled. He could tell just by inspection; the box's lock was going to be difficult to open. Of course, it was a Midgardian key. But that particular Midgardian key needed to contain some form of magic. He would have to take the box first and then crack the code later.

The footsteps came closer. The door opened.

Suddenly, many things happened at once. Both of the cats- ridiculously fat cats- leaped upwards; using the God of Mischief to propel themselves towards the door. Caught off guard, Loki fell forward. His mind still remained calm. A simple plan he was able to formulate: snatch the box and teleport. The Midgardians would not be able to suspect anything.

Loki's last thought before he touched the box was that Midgardians were such pathetic creatures. Alas, Loki didn't realize that cats were even more pathetic.

And the stupidest things are the hardest to embrace.

-End of Prologue-

* * *

Hello everyone! I'm back!

Thank you so much for reading this prologue. I'm really excited to be writing again and I really hope that you enjoy this piece. Please leave a review, follow, and favourite so you can keep up with my irregular updates. I can't wait to fully develop this story!

Cheerios,

KC


	2. Chapter 1 - Buyo

Note #1: The Infinity Stone created by the Humans nowhere resembles the abilities of a real infinity stone. It can not create, reverse, or alternate reality. In fact, at the moment, it seems completely useless.

Note #2: Buy another child lock, preferably the cheapest but more durable one.

* * *

Mina Conan was a little bit of what some people called a Cat Lady.

Perhaps, at first, one wouldn't realize they were looking at a so-called Cat Lady. She rarely brought her cats outdoors- Tofu and Mochi were fatter and lazier than she was- and she hardly talked about them. Her clothing, especially her white Belstaff 'Milford' Coat, was speckless, much less dotted in cat fur. With her dyed silver bun (at times, she was self-conscious of looking like a grandmother until she realized that her favourite star had the same colour) and vibrant red glasses (gold wire glasses made her look completely like a grandma, no matter how cute she thought the hairstyle looked on her bias), she matched the embodiment of professional young potential rather than a shut-in with two, formerly three, fat cats.

But under the surface of her pristine illusion, she'd rather spend her free night at home rather than in Times Square, or spend her time working late in the office or spend her late nights collecting evidence. Outdoors, clubbing, drinking, parties... none of them were Mina's forte. She absolutely hated all of them.

If one were to call her a Cat-Lady, it wouldn't be a complete truth either. Rather than playing with cats, she spent the majority of her time cleaning their messes or petting them vigorously while thinking over a case. She knew nothing of knitting, nor did she want to put in the effort to knit sweaters for her cat. Tofu and Mochi were fat and warm enough. Unlike many cat owners, Mina left her several cups of coffee all over the table and her apartment. Her cats held no interest in anything but destruction and food. Except for coffee. Mina's cats hated coffee- especially the smell. Greetings from her cats mostly consisted of them sprinting forwards to her, seeing her coffee mug, and sprinting away to destroy Mina's home.

Which is why she was surprised to see three cats upon her greeting, having two run away (her former third cat, Brad, would run along with Tofu and Mochi, and she still wasn't used to his absence), and being left with a black kitten that seemed to come out of nowhere. At first, she thought it was Brad.

It was not Brad.

Brad was significantly fatter than this slim kitten, and Brad was the complete opposite. If her former cat was albino, this cat was a velvety fuzzy black colour with green eyeballs. Brad was the least destructive of her cats and was more interested in napping in the expensive cat beds that Mina purchased. This little kitten looked like the embodiment of absolute destruction and mess. Also, she was probably going to take over Mina's twin sized bed.

He or she? Mina set down her coffee and picked up the startled kitten. Okay, so the kitten was a he. Also, the kitten was cold. No, it wasn't shivering, but he was cold to the touch and rough to Mina's skin. She didn't feel his ribcage so the kitten had somehow stayed fed or ran away from home. After all, kittens don't magically appear in apartments. Mina didn't do anything to deserve him.

Also, she needed a name for him. And a collar. And a new cat bed. And he probably needed his needles. And she needed to buy kitty food.

All this seemed fairly easy except for the name. She set her coffee and work down, as she entered the kitchen, hugging the kitten to her chin. If anything, her thoughts about her new ball of fuzz were interrupted by angry meowing and the cat jumping out of her arms and scuttling around her legs. His claws were sharp, but after Mochi and Tofu, the scratching barely hurt. She hung her white jacket on a chair and looked at her notes.

Shit, she forgot to buy child locks again. Did they get into the cat treats again? Assholes.

Dejectedly and irritatedly, the so-called cat lady knelt down and began picking the treats up with the Prince of Asgard biting her toes.

* * *

Monthly Report: Christine Palmer, Date: April 9th, 2018, Report by Mina Conan

Occupation: Sturgeon, fuck no I meant Surgeon.

Location: Either at home or at the Metro-General hospital. Don't worry, she hasn't gone to any suspicious places. Nothing has changed in her monthly schedule. No HYDRA attacks or supernatural kidnappings. We went for lunch once. Guess I stole your date hahaha loser.

Status: Alive and single. You really have to find a way to make up to her. After joining a cult and being a dick, you would have to really change and give her your whole being if you want her to stay single. Another guy is going to steal her, you know. Christine's great.

Notes: Asked if you were still in a cult. I said yes. I think she's scared of you.

* * *

Case: Winter Soldier Location, Date: March 12, 2018, Report by Mina Conan

Yes, Fury, he's in Wakanda. Yes, he's undergoing rehabilitation. Tell "FE" that Noble is there too. Hahaha, Barnes and Noble? I'm hilarious.

* * *

Case: The Disappearance of Dr. Stephen Strange, Date: Febuary 28th, 2018, Report by Mina Conan

Location: Last seen in Hong Kong with his cult. Recently moved back to New York. Have to buy him groceries on Monday. He does not like apples.

* * *

Those were just a few of the many papers that were lying on the floor. Surprisingly, many of the cases were not crumpled or dirty. _What a shame if someone were to smudge it all_ , Loki thought as he raised his cat paw and put it on the paper. Nothing happened. He tried smudging other papers as well but was interrupted as his kidnapper picked him up with cold fingers.

She was young, no older than 30, but her hair looked older than Frigga. If anything, the colour reminded him of a sharper version of his father's colour. She wore round glasses, enlarging the size of her brown eyes, but that made her seem no cuter. In fact, Loki felt like he was being analyzed, as if she could see past his transformation and knew everything about his identity.

Transformation was an incredibly hard euphemism for Loki's situation. Somehow, the box inside this woman's room was enchanted to overcome and neutralize Loki's power and transformed him against his will into a cat.

Out of all things, a cat? This woman was certainly obsessed with cats. She had two fat ones, and there was a picture of a third cat on the wall which he did not notice earlier. She finished picking up the treats after suffocating Loki in her thin, cold arms and was now making a call about him. Perhaps she was a witch? Maybe she knew who he really was? Maybe she had some sort of connection to SHIELD, or even better, his brother?

He looked back down at the sheets. Every one of them had the name "Mina Conan" written on it. It didn't take all his intellect to understand that Mina Conan was most likely the woman's name. It also didn't take him long to realize that Mina wasn't calling any contacts Loki knew. In fact, she was calling a doctor, and the last time Loki ran into a Doctor, he fell through a portal for 30 minutes.

This resulted in Loki cursing out loud and rather loudly, which converted into cat-speak in this throat. His curses simply joined the background noise of fat cat one and fat cat two in the background.

Speaking of which, they seemed even fatter now that Loki was much smaller.

He crawled up on the table and tried to get close to the phone that the woman was holding. And he meowed. And meowed. And he kept meowing. It didn't seem to faze the woman who was talking to the mysterious doctor.

"I can bring him in now." The woman was saying, petting Loki as he momentarily stopped his meowing to paw at her hands.

"That's wonderful." The dry, sour, tired voice said on the other side of the phone. "It's just the third cat?"

"Yeah."

"Has he gotten a name yet?"

And it was at that moment where Loki realized that this woman really had no idea what was going on, that she was hosting an Asgardian as a pet, that a powerful item was resting in her home... This woman was absolutely clueless to the fact that she was keeping something that could possibly alternate reality in her house.

She was also absolutely clueless to the fact that she renamed Loki- Prince of Asgard, Son of Odinson, the rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief- a name that he would forever hear and feel old wounds reopen in his pride.

"His name is... Buyo."

-End of Chapter 1-


	3. Chapter 2 - A Cat's Life (Part 1)

Note #3: Eggs, bacon, kale, cat food (kitten), trash bags, instant noodles (a fuck load), them wakey bois, and bread. Don't forget to deliver groceries.

* * *

In all of Loki's life, he had experienced a variety of embarrassing events. Recently, he had lost the trust of his brother and was one of the main factors in Asgard's fall. He had been stuck on Sakaar and saw many "group activities" in the grandmaster's ship. His first invasion to Earth failed due to a flying tin man and he was picked up and smashed to the ground by a big green humanoid, low-intellect creation. Recently and worst of all, Loki had to do 'Get Help" with his brother, then was tricked by the one who threw him across the room, and electrocuted only to be saved by a mass of large rocks.

Loki thought he knew humiliation. Apparently, Loki was also wrong.

As a cat, Loki noted three things: simple habits like scratching his back had to be with his tongue, he could not understand the noises that cats made but still understood English, Asgardian, and Groot (that language was a pain to learn), and that the two other cats were very heavy.

Firstly, to scratch his back, he had to curl up and lick it. Occasionally, he wouldn't be able to reach it, so he had to rub his back against the wall. When he first felt the itch, he elected to ignore it. However, it eventually got on his nerves. Humiliating, yes, for those who understood and could see past his fuzzy prison. Although the licking from the other cats helped ease him without the extra embarrassment (cat tongues were surprisingly really rough), they did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.

The other two cats (assuming from their collars their names were Tofu and Mochi, the former being orange and the latter being speckled with grey), were, well, fat. They spent a majority of their time licking themselves all over, especially in areas where Loki would absolutely refuse to lick. Their laziness was quite astounding, even when the woman, Mina Conan, was around. Simply sitting there, expecting to be fed with cat treats, sleeping on top of their food bowls or their pathetic excuses for beds...

However, they were still quite agile for their size. Which explained why Loki knew exactly how heavy they were, for Tofu was sitting on top of him and licking his back. At least it got rid of the itch, but it still humiliated the King of Jotunheim. Any lower and it would have been very uncomfortable.

The Grandmaster would have loved it.

Tofu's tongue ran over the part where he was stung earlier by the supposed Doctor. At least the doctor that Mina called was not a second-rate wizard who dropped Kings into portals. Or on the other hand, Loki couldn't figure out which one was worse. Being held captive in the arms of a weak human, being told that Buyo was a good boy, and them having several needles sting him in his rear end was probably one of the worst things Loki experienced.

He decided that he hated all doctors and cats. Tofu was making him really uncomfortable.

Another thing he really hated was that he couldn't move under the fat butt of Tofu. He tried, and he tried to use his weight to throw the massive blob of fat off and mustered as much godly strength as possible, but he really couldn't. He was just so damn fat. It didn't look like Mina offered them much food either. They just kept taking things from places that cats are not supposed to be.

Mentioning the absolutely clueless woman, she was crashed on the couch, lights off, pencil balanced on the top of her lip, somehow not affected by her snoring. In opposition to her cats' all-sleep schedule, she rarely got any sleep. In fact, she seemed as if she just fell asleep, papers strewn across her body and cups of brown liquid strewn around the floors. On top of her stomach, Mochi lay, snoring as contentedly as her owner.

Even as a cat, Loki's observational skills were still exceptional. Bareface, messy bun, dirty glasses: she didn't care for her appearance much. Mina was incredibly low maintenance. It wasn't like she needed to be incredibly high maintenance, her skin was already beyond pale. Judging from the several cases on the floor and Mina's muttering (often along the lines of "Fury's an Asshole" and "I can't wait to piss on all of Stark's work", though Loki was hoping he misheard the last one), she worked closely with SHIELD. But the majority of her other cases were not related with SHIELD, rather they were random murders and occurrences that appeared all over the city. Many of the cases seemed to span no more than a week. In fact, many of them were completed within the date of death.

Perhaps Mina Conan was not as stupid as he thought. It wasn't as if she gave the image that she looked stupid either. She looked quite professional, reliable, and overworked. That was exactly what pissed Loki off- a smart, educated person was keeping the King of Asgard as a pet.

Tofu finally got off Loki and he was able to stretch his back before checking that his kidnapper was fully asleep. Despite his abnormal situation, he still remembered exactly why he came here. Once he caught that man-made infinity stone, then he could restore his glory and dignity.

The man-made infinity stone was simply the name that the humans gave it, because of their arrogance and pride. Loki knew it wasn't a real infinity stone and that the humans evidently did not know the power of an infinity stone. The item he came to collect was simply the most powerful man-made substance in the universe. Because it was human, it was obviously going to be weak in comparison to the six stones of creation. However, it would boost Loki's abilities significantly and it could cause a significant uproar in many other parts of the universe.

All in all, Loki wanted that stone. So as cat or human, frost giant or Asgardian, he was going to get it.

The room wasn't closed, nor it was locked. It was still the same in the way that Loki left it after he got turned into a cat. He immediately went to the box. There really was no way that it was not in this box. The amount of power Loki had felt when he was human was undeniable.

But what could happen if Loki touched the box again? Last time he turned into a cat. What was next? A dog? An Ant? Could the magical spell placed on the box simply kill him? A disturbing thought occurred to him: what if Tofu and Mochi were former humans? But the chance of that was slim. They certainly didn't act human and if Tofu was really a human then everything suddenly became too strange. He reached his paw out and touched the box.

The box did not move. Loki didn't either. He was just a black cat touching a bland wooden box filled with the futile efforts of mankind.

So the box was enchanted so that it only human-proof, or perhaps an exception was made simply for cats. Mina really was stupid. As a cat, he would be able to transfer the box out of the building and hopefully to a fellow ally, maybe attempt to communicate, have them try to unlock the magical code and free Loki from being a cat. Of course, it wasn't going to be easy, but it was doable. Desperate but doable. And after being sat on several times, being called Buyo (and being labeled as such), Loki was quite desperate.

He was just about to attempt pushing the box out of the room (it was really small, perhaps the size of little Kitten Buyo himself), when he heard a loud "Fuck!" and a thump! outside, the sound of Mochi falling or Mina falling or both. He nimbly escaped the room and was promptly sat on by Tofu.

Gosh, he really hated that cat.

Mina herself stood over Loki, not really focusing on him, but rushing to put on a white jacket. "Shit, I have to see the cult member." She was muttering angrily. The other cats did not care, except for Mochi, who seemed quite discontent with her cushion suddenly leaving her. Loki considered escaping through the front but realized that if Thor saw him in his current situation, he would never hear the end of it. So he would stay still and turn back into himself first before embracing his sibling.

"Buyo, be a good boy, alright?" She patted Loki's head. Funny, her priorities were only on the fur and not on the fact that he was under an orange blob. He wanted to yell at her, but a) it only came out as a meow and b) Mina was too busy rushing and only paused once to mention how cute Buyo was when annoyed.

Finally, as she opened the door, she turned back to say a final goodbye.

"Don't fuck anything up while I'm at Stephen's. For some reason, you guys always like making my life harder."

-End of Chapter 2-


	4. Chapter 3 - Strange

Note #4: Is it spelled cult-ist or cultist?

Note #5: The presence of the stone, when removed from its case, is overwhelming. However, once it's inside the case, it is near impossible to detect. If the stone is inside or outside the case, it is still useless.

* * *

Mina always braced herself to arrive at the sanctum and feel blown away by intricate designs and a beautiful castle. When she arrived, there was no real "wow" moment, just like every other time she came to deliver groceries and chat with Stephen.

Looking up at the building, it didn't seem special. It looked old, but it didn't look ancient. Nothing magically changed since the last time she passed by the building. Four stories (including the rooftop attic) and square, bland windows lined up by a dimension of four by five, height by width (except for the one window at the top of the building, which reminded Mina of a basketball due its spherical shape and odd design). The bricks lay dusty on the outdoors. The minimal weeds laced themselves throughout the brick building. The pillars- not Greek pillars, they were a little more cubic- gave a regal impression, but the white pillars were grey and concrete. The doors, though big and grandiose, did not give the impression that those who lived within the building were royal.

In fact, the two losers that lived and worked at the New York Sanctum were jogging up the path in complete cult attire, bags full of deli sandwiches, hands stabilizing coffee. Mina could smell the meat and coffee beans. She almost half hoped that they'd give her some.

"You know," she called, snatching the coffee out of Wong's hand and nodding toward her long-time friend turned into a wizard/cultist, "you really should have just used the portal to come over."

Stephen raised an eyebrow. "To the sanctum or to your house?"

"My house. Thanks, Wong." She addressed that last part to the Asian cultist/wizard, who looked dejected at the coffee that Mina hijacked.

In comparison to the outside appearance, the interior design was significantly nicer. Relics lined tables. Books lined the shelves. On the walls were more artifacts- gold, silver, bronze- and Stephen's red floating cloak. The first time Mina came over, she accidentally poured steaming hot coffee on the cloak. Ever since then, there was a mutual hatred. The cloak did not like Mina and Mina didn't like it either. The unspoken agreement between the two (Mina worded the agreement) was something along the lines of _"you don't touch me and I won't murder you"_.

If Mina had the attention span, she could have gotten lost in all the spells and charms. However, she didn't, nor did she care much about the cult-like realms. So she plopped herself down in a chair (no doubt a priceless artifact of some sort) with Stephen while Wong left to get some more coffee.

Stephen Strange was still the same, just dressed more strangely than his doctor attire. Despite being a former neurosurgeon, his hands no longer trembled (at least better than what Mina had heard about). Mina met the egoistic bastard back when she was in university. Mina and Christine went way back, as they were roommates in the same university. Christine graduated a year later. Eventually, Mina was introduced to Christine's boyfriend, Stephen Strange. Then they broke up. Mina ended up becoming something of a moderator between the two, but if she had to pick, she'd pick Christine, no doubt. Stephen, cult or not, was still as egotistical and butthole-ish as he was before.

"You can leave the groceries over there." A good, safe way to begin a conversation. Stephen gestured towards a table, leaving Mina no choice but to throw the bag at him. An apple rolled out and fell on the floor, along with two others. Stephen, with all his mighty neurosurgeon wisdom, deduced, "You really like purchasing apples."

Mina resisted the urge to punch him. It was so frustrating when people didn't understand your puns! "No shit, Sherlock." The words came out a little muffled, probably because Mina was too busy biting down on her lips and holding back her other response.

Which, for the record, was something along the lines of _"an apple a day keeps the Doctor away but one apple didn't seem to work so I brought you ten."_

Stephen opened his hand and Mina threw the other bit of thing that Stephen specifically requested from her: a monthly report of Christine Palmer and her safety. A sweet (?) act by the doctor, who was concerned that his involvement in the Mystic Arts would endanger his close ones. Somehow (Mina never asked how nor did she want to know), he paid for private investigators to keep an eye on his loved ones. Mina was one of them. She even lowered the price for him since Christine was a friend. Now, she regretted it. Mina could really use that money.

The report itself was simply a formality. Christine's life was completely boring. Stephen, however, took his time reading over the report and frowning. Maybe his time in the cult was affecting his ability to read. Maybe he was reading all the tips that Mina left behind on how to make up with Christine nicely.

"Just tell me all that irrelevant stuff in person." He finally said, throwing the paper through a portal that landed in who knows where.

Mina shrugged. "I don't like talking. Buy your own groceries next time."

Stephen, knowing that Mina was impatient (Mina could read him quite well, she knew often what he was going to say before he said it), offered the same bit of common knowledge that he repeated every time Mina came over. "You can't work all the time. You need to rest."

She shrugged again. "I like work."

If Stephen tried to analyze her with his limited observation skills, he would be able to deduce that Mina wasn't lying. And she wasn't. The private investigator and detective genuinely enjoyed working. She enjoyed reading over cases and figuring out who did it. She enjoyed working with the police force, often finishing the case before they even arrived at the scene. Sweet New York had so much crime that it was perfect for a workaholic like Mina.

Also, Mina was paid like dirt. She needed to work a lot in order to pay for herself. If one with something resembling Mina's observational skills tried to deduce Mina's words, they would declare that _"I like work"_ was a fifty percent lie.

Actually, it was ninety percent lie. Everything that Mina was trying to trick herself with was a lie. Mina could barely tolerate her job. It was the only thing she was good at, but she wasn't passionate about it. The truth was: _"I get paid like shit cause I'm an immigrant and I need to work longer to pay for my living expenses, you overpaid doctor."_

Maybe Mina should join a cult since Strange looked pretty well off.

Once again, Strange started the conversation, but this time, in sign language. Mina understood easily. _Didn't you bring any electronics with you?_

 _I did._ Mina signed, before tossing her phone over to Stephen. He dropped that in a portal, which Mina trusted him to know where he put her phone. If Stephen lost it, Mina would kill him with techniques that even the Mystic Arts couldn't counter. However, Mina also understood why- she knew her phone was probably bugged. Working with SHIELD also meant her privacy was jeopardized, but the news that Mina wished to discuss with the wizard was not ready to be revealed.

"The stone hasn't shown any action yet." Mina paused to sip her coffee. Strange prompted her to continue: Mina knew that the stone's inactiveness was old news. "I haven't gotten attacked either. HYDRA doesn't know that the one that we've placed is a fake. For such a big, power-hungry group, they're really bad at figuring out what they've lost."

"To be fair, it was a really good replica." Stephen prided himself, only to be cut short by a glare and the rest of Mina's verbal report.

"I took the stone out of its box lately. The power is immense. It's crazy powerful. It's like your stone, but less powerful. Like, that power divided by one hundred?"

Stephen frowned. "That's still incredibly powerful. You revealed that power and nobody has murdered you yet?"

Mina shrugged. "Death always seems to come late for me. Also, I got a new cat."

The two sat in silence. Stephen was posed as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. He sat back in his own seat, biting into the apple that Mina brought. Mina, with an absolute lack of magical knowledge, had seen for herself that the item she was storing in her house was insane. Currently, it did nothing. She wasn't even completely sure what it was or what it was supposed to do. Stephen just told her that if it was in the wrong hands, then bad stuff would happen. He really was ever the optimist. Yet, Mina still listened, because if there was anything she trusted him with, it would be magic.

Magic was real. It was still a little bit hard for her mind to process that.

"It doesn't really do anything though and I didn't burn to a crisp when I touched it." Mina chimed, noticing the Doctor's furrowed eyebrows and concerned posture. "It's just... there. There's nothing else to it. Yeah, you can feel the power, but it's..." She trailed off noticing that she was repeating things over.

"Even if they did steal the box, they'd have to overcome the enchantment." Stephen slowly lowered his eyes to Mina's chest. Mina reached inside her jacket and pulled out what Strange meant to look at (it really was unfortunate placement; the author didn't know how to word it otherwise): a silver locket in the shape of a dreamcatcher. She held it in between them, inspecting the hexes written on the silver chains. Many would have thought that Mina received from a loved one, due to its silver beauty. In fact, she got the key from Strange.

Both decided that once HYDRA realized that the stone was missing, they would immediately charge the Sanctum. Therefore, neither Sanctums in the word were a safe place. Then Mina offered to keep it since her place was very unlikely to be raided. The sanctum members agreed, giving Mina the most secure lock and key.

At the time, Mina questioned Strange: 'If my cats wore this necklace, could they open the box?"

He just laughed at her. He didn't stop for a long period. Mina had punched him- it was only right that a person who didn't understand magic would ask such an outrageous question.

Also, the question was never answered. If anything, both Mina and Stephen hated the nuisance of stupid questions.

-End of Chapter 3-


End file.
